Traedogg Down Under

Well, this is not the deep blog with the final updates and pictures from my last days in Sydney you are probably looking for, but I decided to spend every possible last second I could with my loved ones here instead of spending an hour trying to sum up one of the most incredible experiences of my life (which, lets face it (as Jen ALWAYS says), is impossible).

After I arrive safely home in the states, I will do a recap of my final few days in Sydney, complete with a near panic/anxiety attack on my daily morning walk over the thought of seeing my favorite sites in this place I have comed to call “home” “for the last time”. Although thankfully, I realized something: it wont ever be “the last time”… Sydney, Coogee and my girls will be tucked away in a special place in my heart forever and will always be a major part of who I am and will always be. I can’t thank these incredible people enough for being my family away from home, and now, another “family” for life. A group of people I know I can turn to no matter how many miles or continents separate us. They will be the only people on earth that truely understand these four months of my life, and what Sydney, and Australia mean to me. And the only positive part about leaving these tremendous girls, is leaving them means coming home to the blistering, frigid-ass Wisconsin winter!? 😉 Leaving them means returning home to my loved ones I have been missing SO TERRIBLY the last four months! I cannot WAIT to see all of you and hug you and laugh with you, (and probably cry out of pure, genuine joy.) Just 48 hours of brutal travel separates us…pray for safe, swift travels!

Our theme song for the week-Keith Urban’s “Days Go By”

“We think about tomorrow and it slips away,
we talk about forever but we’ve only got today…
and the days go by
i can feel ’em flyin like a hand out the window in the wind as the cars go by
yeah, its all we’ve been given
so you better start livin right now
and days go by…”

And boy are we living. I cant even begin to put into words how incredible this last week has been. Surely one of the best in my life. With each passing day, and the return to the States looming, Sydney is getting more and more beautiful by the minute. I absolutely love this place. It is my home away from home and will have a special place in my heart forever. The fact I am days away from leaving the country is truely bittersweet. In one regard, I have never been more excited in my entire life for the moment I return home and see my loved ones, each of whom I’ve missed TERRIBLY this last four months. On the other hand, I am leaving a magnificantly beautiful country, one which I’ve come to embrace and truely love as my second home. The worst part about leaving is the fear that I may never be fortunate enough to return… thus, I am truely cherishing every last second of my time here.

On Tuesday, Jen Bree and I had plans to do one final Coogee to Bondi walk, and then for the first time ever, do the walk back from Bondi to Coogee (quite a hike.. 1 hour and 1/2 each way!). However, the volitle spring weather quickly foiled our plans. Of course the sun was beating down on us while we trecked up the coast to the beach. But within a 1/2 hour of stripping down to our suits to catch some rays, the wind started whipping, spewing sand EVERYWHERE (the force of the sand wacking every inch of our bare bodies was incredible) as the entire beach raced to pick up scattered belongings and sprint for shelter. After debating an “EXTREME” Bondi to Coogee walk in the pouring rain, we decided against it and hailed a cab home where i saddly spent the rest of the afternoon studying. We made up for it that evening, however, for the rain was NOT going to stop our dinner plans at our favorite Thai Resturaunt, Umarin for one final Thai meal in Australia. I, of course, ordered Cashew Chicken. From there we headed across the street (how convenient!) to our favorite coffee shop, Teascapes, for my and Bree’s third visit of the week;) The three of us chatted for hours before facing the wind/rain one final time for the evening on the walk home.

Wednesday brought more studying by day, more good food by night. Danielle and I arranged an outing to the Hard Rock Cafe in Downtown Sydney, motivated by the prospect of FREE REFILLS ON DIET COKE! (though it turned out to be diet pepsi). But it was the first American Style meal I have eaten since being in Australia other then Mc Donalds here and there! And by “American Style,” I mean, normal lettuce (iceberg and romaine vs. wierd weeds they usually serve), RANCH DRESSING (which 99% of resturaunts dont have), actual Ketchup (they have tomato sauce here and it tastes WAY different) and FREE REFILS ON DIET COKE! (which NO resturaunts have!). So needless to say, it was a very exciting meal… and because we were feeling so American, we left the waiter a 20 dollar tip (they usually dont get tipped) and completely made his night.

Thursday was another AWESOME day. Jen, Anna and I made the trip across Sydney Harbour to Manly Beach, which is a renowned beach on the North Side of Sydney (we live on the south side). The weather was PERFECT for tanning, so we layed out there a few hours before treating ourselves to New Zealand Natural Icecream (best icecream I’ve had since being here other then my Nestle “Heaven Bars” that I am obsessed with…. ask my roomies;)… I swear I’m going to write the Nestle Execs and tell them if they bring these icecream bars to the states, I alone would purchase enough to make it worth their while!). That night, more studying (see, little by little… I am actually working here too!).

Friday brought a little studying, but mostly tanning and working out, followed by a few evening cocktails in downtown sydney with roomates/friends. First, at around 500 I joined Anna, Danielle, Britt and Marissa (Danielles sister) on their hunt for fine looking businessmen in Sydney’s Central Business District. (Dont worry nick, I didn’t even look). The first stop was bar 333, but according to the ladies, there were not enough goodlooking men, so while they pressed on, I moved on to the Sydney Opera House to meet my roomate Jen (who is a photographer and spent the evening in the city taking pictures) for a drink. Since the Opera Bar is my favorite bar in the City, and Jen is one of my favorite people in the world, it was such a wonderful evening. We ordered our over-priced rum and cokes, took a seat overlooking the Sydney Harbour and chatted the night away.. mostly about how incredibly fortunate we are to be here, and how fabulous our parents are. (Mom and dad, I love you guys SO MUCH and will never be able to repay you for giving me this opportunity. I appreciate it more then you can even begin to imagine. This experience has forever changed my life!)

That brings me to this moment… where I could ramble on for hours reflecting on my last four months.. but I will wait a few more days for that! Pictures that correspond to this blog are posted on snapfish in the usual place! (see previous blog if you STILL dont know where that is by now!)

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